DISTRIBUTED ELECTRONIC COMMERCE SYSTEM WITH VIRTUAL SHOPPING CARTS FOR GROUP SHOPPING
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method of conducting electronic commerce comprising:
- using a processor to execute method steps, comprising;
receiving pledges from a plurality of customers to each pay a portion of a total price of an item contained within a virtual shopping cart;
responsive to determining that a sum of portions pledged equals the total price, charging each of the customers the portion pledged by that customer; and
enabling the plurality of customers to purchase the item.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An electronic commerce system includes a broker that enables third parties to create their own independent shopping carts including items from one or more merchants and/or items for group shopping. An agent, customer, or merchant can create and store a shopping cart containing one or more items. One or more customers can view the shopping cart to determine whether to purchase the item(s). To make the purchase, the customer(s) are transferred to a broker for the checkout. Where there is more than one customer, the customers can pledge to pay a portion of the total price for the cart. The customer(s) can purchase the items in the shopping cart in a single purchase transaction with the broker, rather than having to deal with each of the merchants. The broker interacts with the merchants to complete the transaction and can charge the customer(s) the appropriate amount or portion pledged.
74 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method of conducting electronic commerce comprising:
using a processor to execute method steps, comprising; receiving pledges from a plurality of customers to each pay a portion of a total price of an item contained within a virtual shopping cart; responsive to determining that a sum of portions pledged equals the total price, charging each of the customers the portion pledged by that customer; and enabling the plurality of customers to purchase the item. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A computer system for conducting electronic commerce comprising:
a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing executable software modules comprising; a shopping cart management module for receiving pledges from a plurality of customers to each pay a portion of a total price of an item contained within a virtual shopping cart; a accounting module for charging each of the customers the portion pledged by that customer in response to determining that a sum of portions pledged equals the total price; and a transaction module for enabling the plurality of customers to purchase the item. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing executable computer program instructions for conducting electronic commerce, the computer program instructions comprising instructions for:
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receiving pledges from a plurality of customers to each pay a portion of a total price of an item contained within a virtual shopping cart; responsive to determining that a sum of portions pledged equals the total price, charging each of the customers the portion pledged by that customer; and enabling the plurality of customers to purchase the item. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification